1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spouted bag body in which a bag body having flexibility is attached to a spout.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-018419, filed Feb. 3, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
Hitherto, in order to hold liquids such as beverages, instead of a relatively hard container such as a plastic bottle, a soft bag body having flexibility, called a pouch has been used. The main reason is that the bag body holds the liquid therein and is deformed according to usage or is deformed into a compact size as the amount of the liquid contained therein is reduced.
In order to spout the liquid from the bag body, a spouted bag body in which a spout having a cylindrical hole formed in a cylindrical shape for communication between the inside and the outside of the bag body is attached to the bag body may be used. The edge portion of the bag body excluding a part to which the spout is attached is water-tightly (liquid-tightly) sealed. By gripping the bag body with a hand and increasing the internal pressure of the bag body, the liquid in the bag body can be allowed to come out through the cylindrical hole of the spout.
As this type of spouted bag body, for example, a spouted bag body described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-76615 is known. In this spouted bag body, a bag body is bonded to an end portion on a side opposite to the mouth of a spout, to which a cap is detachably attached, so as to be sealed.
The spout is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the cylindrical hole thereof functions as a flow passage of a liquid. The inner circumferential surface of the spout is provided with an engagement groove that extends in the circumferential direction.
The spout has a built-in check valve which opens and closes the flow passage. The check valve is constituted by a biasing member fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the spout, and a spool which is provided to be movable in the axial direction of the spout and is biased toward the bag body side of the spout from the mouth side of the spout by the biasing member.
The biasing member is constituted by a fixed portion formed in a cylindrical shape and a coil spring which is formed integrally with the fixed portion and extends toward the bag body side of the spout from the fixed portion. The fixed portion is fixed to the spout by fitting an engagement claw formed in the outer circumferential surface of the fixed portion into the engagement groove of the spout.
The leading end of the coil spring is provided with a disk-like end plate. A hole is formed at the center of the end plate so as to allow the spool to be engaged therewith.
The biasing member has a liquid dripping prevention portion which prevents the contents from dripping from the mouth of the spout at an end portion on a side opposite to the coil spring of the fixed portion. A seat surface is formed in the inner surface of the liquid dripping prevention portion.
On the other hand, the spool is constituted by a shaft portion which is inserted into the biasing member, and a disk-like valve body provided at one end of the biasing member in the axial direction. The shaft portion is provided with a stopper of which the leading end is tapered like an arrowhead, and the root portion of the stopper is provided with a locking groove that is formed to extend on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion along the circumferential direction. The spool is integrated with the biasing member as the locking groove is engaged with the hole of the end plate.
When the spool and the biasing member are integrated with each other, the spool causes the coil spring of the biasing member to be maintained in a state of being compressed from its natural length. Accordingly, the valve body of the spool is in a state of being constantly biased toward the seat surface of the liquid dripping prevention portion.
The spouted bag body configured as described above operates as follows.
In a case where the internal pressure of the bag body is low, the spool is in a state of being pressed against the bag body side by the biasing force of the coil spring. The valve body abuts the seat surface and blocks the flow passage of the spout. Accordingly, infiltration of air into the bag body via the spout is reliably suppressed, and thus oxidation of the contents is prevented.
On the other hand, when the internal pressure of the bag body is increased by gripping the bag body with a hand or the like, the contents are pressed against the end plate provided in the coil spring. The contents push the spool upward toward the mouth side against the biasing force of the coil spring. Accordingly, the valve body of the spool is separated from the seat surface of the liquid dripping prevention portion, and thus the flow of the contents into the spout is secured. The contents then pass through the check valve and the liquid dripping prevention portion and come out from the mouth of the spout to the outside.
However, in a case where the contents stored in the bag body is a liquid (beverage) such as wine or Japanese liquor, when the bag body is gripped with a hand, it is possible that the liquid may come out from the spout very forcefully and spray may scatter around the spout, which is not preferable. Because of the nature of the liquid, it is desirable that the liquid is gently poured from the bag body in a state where the spout is placed on the lower side.